Grapvine named Kat.E.Lin

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct asexually reproduced grapevine variety, as illustrated and described, is vigorous and highly productive, ripens early before frost, withstands temperatures below -18° C., fruits in fairly large open bunches with large shoulders, the fruit being red to dark maroon/oxblood red with a heavy bloom and having one of the highest Brix or sugar test of any labrusca grape reported in the Grape and Wine Research Summary for 1984 published by the Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario, Vineland Station, Ontario, Canada. The plant is resistant to mildew and does not require thinning. The fruit has a long shelf life and has proven to be excellent for jam, jelly and sweet, dessert wine.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of grapevine, named "Kat.E.Lin", which was discovered by us as a mutant of the Concord (Labrusca) variety, said discovery having occurred in our vineyard at Smithville, Ontario, Canada.

This new grape is characterized by early ripening fruit which matures well before frost in Ontario, Canada; by its ability to withstand temperatures below -18° C.; by its large open bunches of fruit which are easily sprayed and mechanically harvested; by its fruit colour which is dark maroon red with a heavy bloom; by its large shouldered bunches; by its very high sugar content; and by its excellent rating for sweet dessert wine, jelly and table use.

THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a drawing of a leaf showing the various parts measured and angles calculated for the numerical comparison of leaf shapes as outlined in the detailed description of the foliage (reference: Cepages et Vignobles de France, Tome I - Les Vignes Americaines; Imprimerie Charles Dehan, Paris, 1988).

FIG. 2a is a tracing of the petiolar sinus of type leaves of Kat.E.Lin.

FIG. 2b is a tracing of the petiolar sinus of type leaves of Concord.

FIG. 3a is a tracing of the dentations of type leaves of Kat.E.Lin.

FIG. 3b is a tracing of the dentations of type leaves of Concord.

FIG. 4 is a photograph of the leaves of Kat.E.Lin and Concord to illustrate the range in leaf shape.

FIG. 5 is a photograph of the leaves of Kat.E.Lin and Concord to illustrate the colour and texture of both surfaces.

FIG. 6 is a photograph of leaves and canes of Kat.E.Lin and Concord to illustrate the differences in colour and dimension.

FIG. 7 is a photograph of the clusters of Kat.E.Lin and Concord to illustrate the range in shape and the differences in colour.

FIG. 8 is a photograph of the clusters of Kat.E.Lin and Concord to illustrate the differences in colour.

FIG. 9 is a photograph of the seeds of Kat.E.Lin and Concord to illustrate the differences in colour, size and shape.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present mutant was discovered in our own vineyard at Smithville, Ontario, Canada in the 1960 growin season among twenty-five acres of Concord grapes which had been planted in the year 1925. It took three years for the original vine to bear fruit. Cuttings were taken in the fall of 1960, planted in 1961 and bore fruit in 1964. Propagation was carried out by taking two or three node cuttings in February, bundling in 10's and burying upsidedown in the ground, covered by two inches of soil. Cuttings were replanted in a nursery row eight weeks later.

Comparison With A Standard (Concord) Grown at the Same Relative Location

All colour references are from The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Charts (The Royal Horticultural Society, London. copyright 1966), henceforth called R.H.S.C.C.

All foliage measurements and description are based on 10 leaves from the mid-section of a mature cane and foolow the ampelographic definitions of Galet (P. Galet, Cepages et Vignobles de France, Tome I - Les Vignes Americaines; Imprimerie Charles Dehan, Paris, 1988). See FIG. 1 for general terms of reference.

    ______________________________________                                         KAT.E.LIN         CONCORD                                                      ______________________________________                                         VINE:                                                                          General                                                                        large, vigorous   vigorous                                                     1.5 kg/vine 1 yr wood                                                                            1.2 kg/vine                                                  trained to 6-cane Kniffin                                                                        6-cane Kniffin                                               production 7-8 kg/vine                                                                           7-8 kg/vin                                                   Bark - dark brown (RHSCC 200A)                                                                   dark brown (RHSCC 200A)                                      CANES:                                                                         Colour                                                                         light Almond Shell                                                                               light Squirrel,                                              (RHSCC 165A,B)    Hazelnut Brown (RHSCC                                                          166A,B,C)                                                    Size (See Figure 6)                                                            width at node                                                                  12 mm             10 mm                                                        width at internode                                                             9 mm              7 mm                                                         Size                                                                           length of internode                                                            12 cm             10 cm                                                        average can length                                                             2.5-3 m           2-2.5 m                                                      Fruitfulness position                                                          clusters on each shoot                                                                           after node 1 from                                            after node 1 from base                                                                           from the base                                                3-4 clusters/shoot                                                                               2-3 clusters/shoot                                                             rarely 4                                                     TENDRILS:                                                                      Length                                                                         11-13 cm          11-13 cm                                                     Thickness                                                                      5-6 mm            5-6 mm                                                       Colour                                                                         same brown as the same brown as the                                            mature cane (RHSCC 165A,B)                                                                       mature cane (RHSCC 166A,B,C)                                 FOLIAGE:                                                                        Hairiness (See Figure 5)                                                      Upper surface                                                                  smooth, glabrous  smooth, glabrous                                             Lower surface                                                                  dense matted felty                                                                               dense matted felty                                           white/grey        rufous                                                       Mature leaf (See Figure 4)                                                     Shape                                                                          cuneo-truncate    cuneiform                                                    (length=width)    (length>width)                                               (σ = 98.6°)                                                                         (σ = 84.4°)                                     Size                                                                           generally large   medium-large                                                 (>400 cm.sup.2)   (>300 cm.sup.2)                                              Lobes                                                                          generally two shallow                                                                            generally entire                                             superior lobes    (SS = SI > 0.85)                                             (SS > 0.7 < 0.8, SI > 0.9)                                                     Petiolar sinus (see Fig. 2A,B)                                                 non-parallel, acute                                                                              non-parallel,                                                V-shaped (Σ = 153°)                                                                 flattened (Σ = 132°)                            Surface                                                                        smooth, slightly bullate                                                                         smooth, slightly bullate                                     Contour                                                                        flat              slightly convex                                              Teeth (see Fig. 3A,B)                                                          coarse, pointed to                                                                               pointed, shallow,                                            slightly concave with                                                                            tip of vein beyond                                           vein extension beyond                                                                            the lamina green                                             the lamine red                                                                 uneven size but generally                                                                        regular, average size                                        wide (length/width:0.3-0.5)                                                                      (length/width:0.5-0.7)                                       Colour (See Fig. 4,5)                                                          dark yellow green dark green                                                   RHSCC 137A,B with veins                                                                          RHSCC 139 A,B with                                           contrasting at RHSCC                                                                             veins contrasting at                                         151A,B            RHSCC 139D                                                   FLOWERS:                                                                       Bloom                                                                          June 18-20        June 18-20                                                   Position                                                                       nodes 2-8 on 1 yr cane                                                                           nodes 2-8                                                    3-4 bunches/shoot 2-3 bunches/shoot                                            Quality                                                                        hermaphroditic    hermaphroditic                                               self fertile      self fertile                                                 FRUIT:                                                                         Peduncle                                                                       medium 3-4 mm diameter                                                                           medium to heavy                                                                4-5 mm in diameter                                           bright green (RHSCC 144A,B)                                                                      green (RHSCC 136B,C)                                         Cluster                                                                        Size (See Fig. 8)                                                              small to medium   small to medium                                              14-18 cm          12-16 cm                                                     Shape (See Fig. 7)                                                             winged with shoulder                                                                             winged with shoulder                                         occasionally equal to half                                                                       occasionally equal to                                        length of main cluster                                                                           1/3 to 1/2 length of                                                           main cluster                                                 2.sup.ry, 3.sup.ry clusters usually                                                              2.sup.ry, 3.sup.ry clusters usually                          conical           conical                                                      Weight                                                                         125-250 g         125-250 g                                                    Density                                                                        loose             full but not tight                                           Berries                                                                        Size                                                                           medium            medium                                                       16 mm diameter    17 mm diameter                                               Weight                                                                         medium            medium                                                       2.7 g             3.4 g                                                        Shape (See Figure 7,8)                                                         round to oblate   round to oblate                                              Flesh texture                                                                  non-adherent slipskin                                                                            non-adherent slipskin                                        firmer than Concord                                                                              typical of slipskin                                          gelatinous, green gelatinous, pale green                                       seeds separate relatively                                                                        seeds separate with                                          easily from flesh difficulty                                                   Flesh Quality                                                                  21.8°Brix Sept. 27, 1988                                                                  18.5°Brix/1988                                        20.8°Brix Oct. 4, 1989                                                                    16.2°Brix/1989                                        19.0°Brix Sept. 30, 1990                                                                  15.5°Brix/1990                                        Skin                                                                           firm but edible   tough                                                        Brush                                                                          white             white                                                        medium 3-4 mm     short 2-3 mm                                                 Attachment                                                                     does not shatter  tends to shatter                                             easily at maturity                                                                               after full maturity                                          detaches with a wet                                                                              detaches roughly,                                            scar but usually with                                                                            often leaving torn                                           the skin intact   skin and always a wet                                                          scar                                                         Flavour/Bouquet                                                                mildly foxy, pleasant                                                                            strong but pleasant                                          mildly aromatic   intensely aromatic,                                                            pungent (used as type                                                          specimen for labrusca                                                          flavour/aroma)                                               Colour (See Figure 7,8)                                                        Oxblood/maroon    blue black                                                   RHSCC 187A,B      RHSCC 103A                                                   heavy waxy bloom  heavy waxy bloom                                             Maturity                                                                       September 25-Oct. 2                                                                              September 30-Oct. 7                                          SEEDS:                                                                         Size                                                                           7 × 4 mm    6 × 4 mm                                               Frequency                                                                      2-3/berry         4/berry                                                      Shape                                                                          elongated, gently tapering                                                                       stocky, bulky                                                Surface markings (See Figure 9)                                                ventral                                                                        beige with yellow brown                                                                          beige with grey brown                                        perimeter not distinct                                                                           perimeter quite                                                                distinct                                                     distinct raised keel                                                                             keel not so                                                                    prominent, almost                                                              flattened                                                    Surface markings                                                               dorsal                                                                         yellow brown (RHSCC 199A)                                                                        grey brown (RHSCC 197A)                                      gently rounded shoulders                                                                         heavy rounded                                                no distinct dorsal groove                                                                        shoulders, club                                                                shaped with distinct                                                           dorsal groove                                                gradual tapering to beak                                                                         distinct neck to beak                                        dark red/brown at basal                                                                          beak uniformly                                               tip of beak (RHSCC 200B)                                                                         coloured                                                     ______________________________________                                    

The new mutant is vigorous and productive and ripens well before frost. Fruiting wood withstands temperatures below -18° C. It produces fairly large open bunches with large shoulders. The fruit is red to dark maroon/oxblood red. It has high dissolved solids (Brix readings), exceeding those of many varieties noted in the Grape and Wine Research Summary for the year 1984, published by the Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario, Vineland Station, Ontario. The plant is resistant to mildew and does not require thinning to attain commercially acceptable berry size or fruit quality. The fruit has a long shelf life and has proven an excellent product for jam, jelly and sweet dessert wine. 

We claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of grapevine, substantially as herein shown and described, characterized by excellent vigor and producitvity, early ripening, hardiness to below -18° C. temperatures, mildew resistant, long shelf life and high sugar content. 